An RCMP official says the agency knew about Julie Couillard before a scandal erupted over her relationship with former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier.
Raf Souccar, the RCMP's assistant commissioner for federal and international operations, did not specify what the RCMP knew about Couillard, or whether any information had been passed on to the government.
On Tuesday, Souccar appeared before a House of Commons public safety committee examining the affair.
Bernier initially came under fire after reports emerged that Couillard had relationships with men who were either members of outlaw biker gangs or who had close ties to that world.
Bernier stepped down on May 26, hours before Couillard revealed he had left classified briefing materials in her apartment in mid-April.
The committee is trying to determine the extent of the security breach. Bernier and Prime Minister Stephen Harper said they will not participate, although Couillard is expected to make an appearance next week.
Former CSIS agent Michel Juneau-Katsuya told the committee that Bernier is being held to a lower security standard than a bureaucrat would be.
"What I wanted to bring to the committee ... is that there is a double standard," he later told CTV's Mike Duffy Live. "There is a standard well established for federal employees, where we have procedures, we have policies to execute a security clearance, and how you behave after you obtain that security clearance.
"It is very obvious to me, with the information obtained, that there is a different way to proceed with an elected official. And alternatively, they do carry some of the most sensitive information the government has."
Harper not appearing
Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, a member of the committee, criticized the prime minister's decision not to co-operate.
"If the prime minister or Mr. Bernier were concerned about national security issues they wouldn't have been so dismissive in their attitude with respect to this matter and they wouldn't have disregarded our invitation," Dosanjh told 愛污传媒net.
Dosanjh said the situation is a "serious national security breach" and that Harper shouldn't dismiss the affair.
On Monday, Harper said he had "no interest in participating in a partisan circus."
The prime minister has shot down Liberal Party requests to establish an independent inquiry or an RCMP investigation into the scandal.
"When you have a relationship with the top diplomat of the country and a national security breach occurred and you happen to have links with organized crime it is no longer a private matter," said Dosanjh.
"You can ask any expert anywhere in the G8 countries and they'll tell you that this is a serious matter."
The Tories have launched their own internal inquiry within Foreign Affairs.
Dosanjh said he hopes Couillard will testify but he doesn't think she should be compelled to appear before the committee since Harper isn't being forced.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has also been invited to speak.
With files from The Canadian Press
